Shhhh! They Still Want to Surf for Porn!
by Kath
I don't know about you, but as an adult
webmaster I really don't care if my surfers find my site while they're at home
doing the laundry, at the office avoiding a board meeting or sitting with a
crowd behind them in a stinky, pizza box filled dorm room. All I care about is
whether or not they've got their credit card in hand - along with other
necessary, personal equipment - and are ready to buy that membership. Heck, I
don't care if they are male or female; black, white or Asian - I don't even
care if they are blue collar or white collar. Hey, Visa gives out secure cards
nowadays so income level really doesn't mean squat. If they've got the means
and the interest - bring 'em on!
So I guess I really should have a
non-opinion on this whole "surfing for porn in the library" hullabaloo that's
all over the news this week. Sure, we've been chatting about it for awhile now
- Constitutional rights this, freedom of speech that - but it really doesn't
affect me, the porn webmaster. Or does it?
American Freedoms of Speech
and Constitutional Rights affect us all in one way or another. It doesn't even
matter if you're a webmaster from a country outside of the US - the struggle to
keep those rights and freedoms that's happening right now affects you too. That
is, if you hope to keep making money off all those porn-loving Americans it
does.
THE FACTS:
- The Supreme Court is set to decide on November
18th whether or not the government can restrict Internet surfing at public
libraries. This is the third case now between free-speech rights activists and
those who are working to protect children from online pornography to reach the
high court.
- They are also debating whether or not federal
funds that support local libraries can be taken away if those libraries refuse
to install sex and explicit content blocking filters on their
computers.
- Over 14 million people use public libraries to
surf the net each year. Not all of them are there to surf for porn - many are
there to use those systems for research, email communications and other
educational purposes. Sure, there are a few who are there for the porn - but
these restrictions will prevent access to other non-porn sites that will be
blocked for other reasons.
- A federal panel ruled this year that the CIPA
(Children's Internet Protection Act) violates the Constitution's First
Amendment because of the manner in which the average filtering program blocks
content, often restricting access to political, health, science and other
non-porn topics and information.
- In 1996, the Supreme Court rejected the
Communications Decency Act (CDA) because they resolved that it violated
free-speech rights.
- In 1998, the Supreme Court upheld the Child
Online Protection Act (COPA), which required age verification processing before
allowing access to adult or harmful materials. However the court did not rule
on the act's relation to the Constitution and the government has been barred
from enforcing it to this day.
So how would this affect us? If they are
surfing for porn at the LIBRARY for crying out loud, chances are they can't
afford a $29.95/month membership - right? That's not the issue. That's not the
point. That's not what you should be worried about.
Every time we give
away our rights - and we've been handing them over on a silver platter lately -
we take away the freedoms and power that Americans have fought so have to
achieve and keep since the very birth of our country. An inch here - a baby
step there - maybe even a whole mile and then just a little push, push, push
further towards the door and we can kiss our way of life good-bye. This isn't
about porn. This isn't about surfers. This isn't even about protecting kids
from pornography - cause goodness knows filters are NOT the answer. This is
about freedoms and fighting for them.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO?
The first and
most important step that you can take as an American - and as an adult
webmaster conducting business in the United States is to stay informed. Read up
on the issues. Stay on top of all the red flag alerts that the ACLU (www.aclu.org), Free
Speech Coalition (www.freespeechcoalition.com) and other activist groups put out
on issues and cases that threaten our freedoms.
Secondly, as American
citizens you need to use your voice. That is your power. Stand up - be counted
and let your voice be heard. Contact your local representatives - you know
those folks who just got your vote this month - and tell them that their
constituents will not allow their freedoms to be systematically taken away from
them one by one.
A third way is to join the fight that these
organizations are taking up on your behalf. Become a member of the Free Speech
Coalition. Get their newsletters, read the information that they distribute,
attend their meetings. Join the ACLU - stay on top of ALL issues that affect
our freedoms and liberties. If you don't have the time to become an activist -
at least make the time to donate to such a worthy cause. Support those who
support us.
It starts with Internet filters in libraries. That sounds
harmless enough. But what will they want to take next? In California it's
illegal to smoke cigarettes in bars - or within a specified number of feet
within a public area. A father was kicked out of a ballgame I attended a few
weeks ago because he was smoking cigarettes behind the bleachers between
innings. They nip and pick at the small issues first until they find that the
resistance to change and removal of rights weakens. That's when they make their
big move.
I've quoted this passage many, many times on message boards
and in chatrooms during my years as a member of the adult webmaster community,
and every time I bring it up it rings more and more truth. I would like to
close this article with it to remind people of how one seemingly small incident
can cause such tremendous loss for us all.
"First they came for
the Communists but I was not a Communist - so I said nothing. Then they came
for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat - so I did nothing.
Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they
came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew - so I did little. Then when they came
for me, there was no one left who could stand up for
me."
- Pastor Martin Niemöller, who was
reported to have been influential in building opposition to Adolf Hitler's
efforts to bring the German churches under control of the Nazis and in 1937 was
arrested by the Gestapo. Eventually sent to Sachsenhausen and then to Dachau
concentration camps, he was moved in 1945 to the Tirol, where Allied forces
freed him at the end of World War II.
For more information
& updates on this case see:
U.S. v. American Library Association,
et. al.
http://archive.aclu.org/features/f032001a.html
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